


Water in the desert

by UrsaeMinoris



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Desert, Gen, Grief, Keith (Voltron)-centric, POV Keith (Voltron), Pre-Canon, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 00:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15352629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UrsaeMinoris/pseuds/UrsaeMinoris
Summary: While researching the energy source he feels in the desert, Keith realizes he might have to spend more time out there than he had planned.Will he find his way back safely ?This happens during Keith's year in the desert, before Shiro comes back crashing on Earth.-----Keith walked to the edge of the cliff, taking in the panoramic view it offered him. The late afternoon sun was slowly getting lower in the sky, bathing the mesas in a warm, golden light.He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the strange sensation he was investigating. It was distinctly there, but moderate. Some sort of vibration, some kind of weird pressure around his temples and in his ears, a tingling on his skin... And most of all, the feeling that this was Important, and that he needed to find...whatever the hell it was that was that he felt. He wondered if the sensation wasn’t getting more and more urgent. He turned around, trying to pinpoint a direction. It would make his quest a lot more simple. But… as always, it was in vain.





	1. Because of the sand...

**Author's Note:**

> Made for [desertkeithweek](https://desertkeithweek.tumblr.com/), for the theme “scouting” (day 4).  
> I'm terribly late, despite having started that one months in advance... But I had to do a ton of research for that one, and it ended up being longer than what I had planned, too. I hope you'll enjoy it !  
> As usual, fair warning that English is not my first language and that I don’t have a beta reader !  
> I love feedback, don’t be shy ! I enjoy comments, here or on tumblr (<https://ursae-minoris-world.tumblr.com/> : [Water in the Desert](https://ursae-minoris-world.tumblr.com/post/176060701408/water-in-the-desert) ).
> 
> Oh, and by the way, if you're curious about the service station Keith is working at, that's mentioned in the story, I have a fic about it here : [Last service station for 30 miles ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15140648)

Keith walked to the edge of the cliff, taking in the panoramic view it offered him. The late afternoon sun was slowly getting lower in the sky, bathing the mesas in a warm, golden light.

 

He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the strange sensation he was investigating. It was distinctly there, but moderate. Some sort of vibration, some kind of weird pressure around his temples and in his ears, a tingling on his skin... And most of all, the feeling that this was Important, and that he needed to find...whatever the hell it was that was that he felt. He wondered if the sensation wasn’t getting more and more urgent. He turned around, trying to pinpoint a direction. It would make his quest a lot more simple. But… as always, it was in vain.

 

He sighed, and went back to his hoverbike. He opened one of the storing compartments and brought out a map, and a few color pencils tied together with a rubber band. He took the yellow pencil and drew a cross in the corresponding place. His code was simple : the closer to the energy source he felt, the redder the color he chose was. It went from blue, to green, to yellow, to orange...so far he hadn’t used red itself. He felt he was not quite close enough yet. 

Choosing the color, on the other hand, _wasn’t_ simple, as the  sensation was hard to quantify. Still, a pattern was starting to appear on the map and he could more and more precisely narrow down the area where the “source” was located.

 

H e folded back the map – not an easy feature, with the quiet but steady wind blowing  and stirring up sand –  and put it  back in the hoverbike’s  stor age .  Using a paper map was kind of  outdated, and it would be easier to use a geographic information system on a tablet,  combined with  a gps, but he hadn’t the means for that.  He was short on money, and most of it was used for fixing up the shack, keeping the howerbike in state, and providing to his basic needs.

 

So for his research he had resorted to low tech equipment. And he did enjoy old fashioned stuff anyway. He annotated paper maps. He wrote in notebooks and on post-its. He had also purchased a Polaroid, so that he could have his photos immediately printed out. And he gathered all on his cork board, linking things together with colored yarn, and staring at it while sitting on the old battered couch that he also used as a bed. 

It was easier for him to reflect on this than it would have been on a computer anyway ; it felt more...tangible that way. More solid. Somehow, it was comforting. Everything in his life had suddenly slipped out of his grasp with the announcement of the Kerberos mission failure, and all he had found to keep going was to put all his focus into searching for… he didn’t even know what. Some weird source of...energy, some strange feeling that he couldn’t really explain. Whatever made things more palpable helped keep him grounded.

 

He straddled the hoverbike, pressed the throttle, and...nothing but a few choked up throbs. Oh, hell no ! Not a breakdown, not now, not so far out in the desert !

“ _Come on !”_ he grunted, while trying again, pushing down  the accelerator. The engine coughed a bit, started with a few hiccups, and died again. Keith let his head fall forward with a frustrated growl.

Well, this wasn’t working. He dismounted, and resisted the urge to kick something. _Patience yields focus,_ he reminded himself _._ But the calming mantra didn’t work anymore. It only summoned memories of Shiro, and the pain that came with it was almost physical. He leaned against the bike, arms tightly crossed, taking slow breaths to calm himself down. This really wasn’t the time for this. He needed to focus.

 

“Ok”, he told no one in particular. “I got this.”

He didn’t have any insurance, and no money to pay for hailing a tow truck (if they even came off-road in the middle of the desert), so he could only count on himself. 

He knelt, opened up the engine box and examined the mechanism. Just as he worried, the air filter was completely encrusted with sand. Some of it might already have entered the carburetor. Until he cleaned this all, the hoverbike wouldn’t move. But there was no way to clean it out there : with the sand flying around, removing the filter to clean it, even if trying to cover the air chamber, would only result in more sand getting in, and this wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

He usually did that kind of repairs at the garage from the service station where he worked part-time. It was better to do it inside.

 

He looked at the map, and tried to find the best option. He was just lucky enough to have been in trouble in the middle of nowhere. There was no human habitation in a wide range, at least not anything that was big enough to be mentioned on the map. The closest was actually the service station. There he would find water, food, and a place and tools to repair the bike. He counted that if he stopped for the nights and avoided the hottest hours of the day, it would take at least the evening, and two more days to join the service station. 

For the last quarter of the way, he would come across a road that he could walk alongside. If he was lucky, someone driving by might stop and accept tow him. If so, he might even make it in time for his work shift. Thinking of which… He should at least call his boss to tell her he might be late. Maybe she would even agree to pick him up once he made it to the road. 

 

But, _of course_ , he didn't have any network here. He was pretty sure that when he got to the road, nearing the station, the phone would work again. Until then… He was on his own. And he would have to walk. At least, the air cushion the hoverbike was floating on was created with an independent mechanism that was still functioning. So, he could push the bike, without too much effort, even if it was quite bulky. If the hovering system had been down too, he would have been in much worse trouble. 

 

Maybe, if he founded some sheltered place like a cave, he would be able to temporary fix the filter. That was his best option, and he needed to find a shelter for the night anyway. 

 

He went through the supplies stocked in his hoverbike.

He had about 1 gallon of water left, which wasn’t nearly enough. He'd have to find some water on the way. He cursed himself for not having more water just in case that kind of situation happened.

There was also his first aid kit, and it included a security blanket, which would be useful. And he had brought sunscreen. Thankfully.

For food, he only had a pack of energy bars (with 3 bars left). It wasn’t much, but it should be enough. You could survive several days without eating at all, after all.

Other than that, a basic toolbox for the hoverbike, some straps that might help him haul the bike, a flashlight, binoculars, a compass, and his map.

Concentrating on the inventory had helped him to cool down. 

“I got this”, he repeated.


	2. Under the stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Despite the desert being an ideal spot for it, he hadn't stargazed once since he had been dismissed from the Garrison._

As the sun was already getting low, he could hope the temperature would slowly get down. It was time to start moving. 

Using the ropes to tow the hoverbike, he started getting down the mesa. Without any contact to the ground, the hoverbike moved quite easily (even if not always in the right direction), but it was still harder than he had pictured it first.

Once he was finally on level ground, he was already exhausted, panting and covered in sweat. He searched for shadow, and took a first break. He allowed himself to drink a bit of water as well. He needed to avoid wasting it, but he couldn't take the risk of getting heatstroke at the very beginning of his journey. He had to be careful and try to find water on the way.

At least, here the ground was rather level, so manoeuvring his bike was much easier than on the mesa's slope. He walked at a swift and steady pace, as he couldn't afford lingering, but also avoiding any excessive effort. 

 

He found himself walking towards the sunset like some cliche cow-bow at the end of an old time western. Well, minus the horse, and plus a hoverbike in tow, which made it a bit less cool. The whole landscape was colored in orange and pinkish tones, while the bluish shadows were stretched long. He would have enjoyed it, had he not urgently needed to find a shelter for the night. The light was deeming and he wouldn't find any good place in the dark, flashlight or not.

 

Despite looking for it, he still hadn't found any water, which was starting to be an issue. He knew sometimes rain water collected in little puddles or pools in depressions on the rocks, but there had been no rainfall in a while. He would just have to keep looking, and to keep going on whatever happened. He wasn't dying here. 

 

He was hoping for a cave, but they weren't that easy to find, and he had to settle down at the foot of a cliff. It formed a curve offering a good protection against the wind, which was starting to die down anyway.

A  jack rabbit raced away when he approached with his hoverbike. Before setting camp, h e tried to fiddle with the air filter without taking it off, brushing some sand away, but the engine still refused to start. He gave up, and decided to  stop there for the night.

 

T he  cliff and ground were still warm from the day, but the air was cold, even now he had put his jacket on again.  The area around his shelter was rather barren,  and without too much wind, starting a fire wasn't too risky if he did things right. 

 

He cleared the area  from any dried weeds and parked the hoverbike a few feet away. He dug a small pit in the sand, surrounded it with some of the rocks that littered the area.  He found a  dry  tumbleweed, and cut some joshua trees  branches and dry leafs . He  pushed a twig in his hoverbike's  cigarette lighter, fumbl ed a bit  until it started burning, and used it to start the fire. The whole operation took some time,  but  it wasn't to o hard and more importantly, it kept his mind occupied. He cheered when the fire  was set, and sat down,  wrapping himself in the security blanket, and  rest ing his back  against the warm rocky  wall .  The flames were oddly comforting to watch.  He drank some more, and ate one of the energy bars. 

 

When the fire was reduc e d to  e mbers, he found his eyes drifting to the starry sky. It was breathtaking,  the milky way tracing it's path between the familiar constellations . The grief took him by surprise. 

 

Despite the desert being an ideal spot for it, he hadn't stargazed once since he had been dismissed from the Garrison. It was too tied to memories of Shiro. It was something they used to do together, sneaking out after curfew on the Garrison's roof to watch the stars. Shiro would bring binoculars or even his portable telescope and explain space, the moon, the stars and the planets to him. They would stay up way too late, until Shiro would realize the time or see Keith was getting sleepy, and decide it was time to go to bed.

 

N ow Shiro was up there somewhere. They said he was dead.

But he couldn't be.  He couldn’t.  Those were all lies. Shiro was the best  p ilot Keith had ever seen, so good that he had been chosen for this ground-breaking mission over all more experimented astronauts. Shiro would never make the sort of mistake they accused him off. Keith knew that, he just  _ knew _ , and he would prove it to anyone who believed otherwise.

Shiro was an amazing pilot. He cared deeply for his crew and would never do anything that would put them in danger.

And he had  told Keith he would come back. He had  _ promised _ . 

 

Keith huddled under the blanket, hugging his legs close to his chest and resting his forehead on his knees, tensing to try to keep the pain inside. _He had said he would come back._

Despite his efforts, a sob shook his frame, tearing painfully through his chest. Keith tried to clench his teeth, to squeeze his eyes shut, to curl himself into a tight ball, but he wasn't able to hold back the tears. He did manage to keep silent, even if his breaths were labored and shaky.

Keith was used to keeping his pain to himself, was used to hide it away, and even here, where no one could see him, he kept it contained the best he could.

The fire was cold for a long time when Keith finally gave in to sleep.


	3. Towards the source

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The need to get to the energy source was almost overwheling, and somehow it had become mixed in his mind with the idea of finding water._

When Keith woke up, the sun was rising. He felt dizzy and a bit disoriented, his mouth dry, his skin itchy with dust and the salt of his tears. His ears were buzzing, and a weird pressure was accumulating in his temples. He shook the sand out of his hair, ran his hands across his face, and drank some water, before he understood what that weird feeling was : _the energy source !_ He was closer from it than he had ever been ! Somehow, he hadn't realized it the previous day, ascribing his sensations to the heat and weariness. 

 

H e checked that the ashes were cold, and mixed them with sand for good me a sure. If his dad had taught him anything, then it  w as fire safety.  The wind had started again, so it was better to double check.

His water supply was almost empty, and if he didn't find any water he might end up in big trouble. He looked at the map again.  It was actually hard to focus with the intensity with which he felt the energy source.  Maybe he could alter his course a little bit to get through places where he was more likely to find water ? There was a place near-by where he knew a river would form during monsooms, and if he was lucky, he might still find remnants of water. 

 

Before  he put the map back in the bike's storage, he traced a big, fat, red cross in his actual location.

It was starting to get hot already. Keith  wished he had taken a hat. He  tied up on his head the bandana he used to avoid inhaling dust when riding his hoverbike in the desert.  He felt like it helped a bit.

 

T he temporary river happened to be in the same direction where the he felt the energy source was, and he felt drawn to it like a moth to a flame. He had to make a conscious effort to stop himself when the sun was getting  high. The heat was  suffocating , and he rested in the shadow of a hoodoo during the worst hours.  His water was entirely gone by now.

The need to get to the energy source was almost overwheling, and somehow it had become mixed in his mind with the idea of finding water.

 

When he finally arrived at the river bed, he was completely on autopilot. Was it the heat, the exhaustion, the constant draw towards the energy source ? He couldn't tell. He even forgot to search for water  once at the te m porary river bed .  He only realized this when he found himself  in front of  a big cavern. He didn't even remember how he had gotten there.

 

The weird feeling of the energy source was staggering, but it wasn't much a pull like it had been all day. It was surrounding him everywhere, like the whole area was infused with it. 

 

But this was good ! This was really good, because  the cave was big enough that he could try to fix his hoverbike there.

Also, the air was fresh and  moist inside, and maybe he could find water ?

He took his flashlight and entered the cave, first letting the bike outside. He heard a flapping sound, and saw that he had disturbed some bats who were resting there.

“Sorry”, he muttered, as if they could have understood it.

The entrance was wide enough and the sun was bright enough that he didn't even need the flashlight first. 

 

 

The walls of the cave were covered in ancient markings. He came closer, to examine them. It wasn't the first time Keith saw petroglyphs, but these somehow had a different style than the ones he was used to. But more importantly, they seemed connected to the energy that was flowing in this place. 

He would have to come back and explore this area. See if there were other markings, other caves. If he could make sense of what was drawn on these walls.

But for now, he was dizzy with dehydration, and he needed to find a way to get back to civilization. And fast.

 

He hold his breath ; he just heard something, that sounded like… water drops echoing somewhere ? Yes, I really sounded like that. He followed the sound, until he found a tunnel. This time he turned on the flashlight, and found a way through the tunnel (he had to go on all fours while holding the flashlight with his teeth for a short stretch, but mostly it was passable). Luckily, it was short. He arrived in a huge underground chamber. It was mostly occupied by a vast, underground lake. His flashlight couldn't even reach the ceiling, but there were stalagmites hanging from it, and that's where what he had heard came from : water drops falling from the stalagmites into the lake, the sound reverberating by the cave. It was almost melodic.

 

He ran to the shore and crouched near to it. The water seemed really clear, using the light he could easily distinguish the rocks at the bottom, even if it did seem quite deep.

He filled his hands with water. He hissed, as it was ice cold. But when he took a tentative sip from it, it didn't have any weird taste. He's have to trust his luck on this one, and hope it wasn't toxic. He really needed to drink something at this point, so he just went with it.

 

The good news was that he could use the water to clean his air filter ! 

He went back to the hoverbike, pushed it into the cave, and came back to the lake to fill his empty water can. 

Back in the first chamber, he emptied the first-aid box, filled it with water, and immersed the air filter in it, gently squeezing it and getting as much sand out of it as he could. When it was clean, he put it out on the box's lid to let it dry.

 

He cleaned the air chamber using a handkerchief from his toolbox. When the filter was dry, he screwed the filter back in. He should have oiled it and greased the rim to seal it, but he didn't have the supplies. His first destination would have to be the service station anyway.

 

He pulled the throttle and… it worked ! He punched the air in his enthusiasm, and pushed the hoverbike outside of the cavern. Before leaving, he got the map out one last time, and circled the whole location. He _would_ have to come back here and explore, to find out what was going on here.

For now, he straddled the bike, cheered when the engine started, and sped towards the general direction of the road and the service station, laughing as the wind tossed his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this ! It was interesting to explore that part of Keith life, and how it could have been like to live in the desert.  
> Comments are welcome here, or on [tumblr](https://ursae-minoris-world.tumblr.com/post/176060701408/water-in-the-desert) !


End file.
